Netanyahu has halted the release of Palestinian prisoners. What are the reasons behind this decision?

Israel has indefinitely postponed the release of Palestinian hostages. This concerns those who were supposed to be freed on Saturday as part of the hostage release agreement with the Hamas group.

This information was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing The Times of Israel.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained the reasons behind the decision.

"Due to repeated violations by Hamas, including ceremonies that humiliate our hostages and the cynical use of our hostages for propaganda purposes, the decision was made to postpone the planned release of terrorists until the next hostage release is guaranteed, and without humiliating ceremonies," the office stated.

As reported by The Times of Israel, this announcement may provoke Israel to withdraw from the ceasefire agreement, under which 25 living hostages and the bodies of four others have already been released. Meanwhile, 63 individuals remain in Gaza, and at least two dozen of them are alive.

The publication adds that on Thursday, the transfer of four more bodies is scheduled in exchange for a larger number of hostages. This will be the last planned transfer under the first phase of the agreement.

Currently, there are no arrangements for the release of living hostages.

This action follows Hamas's ceremonies on Saturday, during which five Jewish hostages were released, forcing two still-captive Israelis to watch and record a propaganda video. A sixth hostage, who is not Jewish, was released without fanfare.

It is noteworthy that recently Israel accused Hamas of violating the hostage release agreement. Specifically, the country identified the bodies of four hostages handed over by militants and found that among them were confirmed bodies of an elderly man and two children. However, the fourth body does not belong to a mother. Israel, in turn, demands the return of the deceased woman's remains to her family.